Of Slavery and Speedsters
by GhostDog401
Summary: A look crossed Bart's face and Wally instantly recognized it. It was a look he had seen on every hero with a tragic back story. Nightwing, Artemis, M'gann, Superboy, Batman, sometimes Flash even got that look in his eyes. It looked so out of place on Bart's usually happy face. "Bart what aren't you telling us?" "Everything."


**Of Slavery and Speedsters**

**Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family  
Characters: Wally West/Kid Flash, Barry Allen/Flash  
Pairings: Brotherly stuff with Bart and Wally, hinted Spitfire  
**

Wally groaned as he heard a knock at the door, he swore if it was some person telling him that they were sorry for his lost and that it would be okay or whatever he was going to scream.

Pushing himself up off the couch he nudged a whining Kent away from the door with his foot, before opening it.

"Can I—"

That was as far as he got before a red and white blur rushed into his house, groaning he shut the door and followed it.

"Bart get back here!" He screamed as he rushed after the blur, however unlike every normal speedster he didn't go straight to the kitchen, instead Bart had invaded his room and was sitting crossed legged reading something.

"What are you—Hey give me that!" Wally continued to glare at the boy as he snatched away the book that was his journal. "You can't just go stealing people's stuff!"

"Hey where I come from it's not stealing its scavenger rights," Bart stated nonchalantly waving his hand. "Anyways what's up?"

Wally rubbed his head, as he put the book away.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" He asked the boy, for a moment the boy's smile vanished, but it was back seconds later, making Wally wonder if he'd just imagined it.

"Nah, it got boring so I left," Bart explained quickly.

"You left…Bart you can't do that!" Wally stated starting to panic for his cousin. "That's called skipping class you could be arrested and how do they ID you? News flash they can't and then your whole identity is busted."

"Oh come on l'm not _that_ stupid," His green eyes rolled. "I told the teacher I wasn't feeling well, she told me to leave and so I did. Then I came here, I figured you and I could hang. It'll be totally crash!"

Wally relaxed a little all the while wondering where the sudden worry for the boy had come from, shaking his head he sighed, he didn't have the heart to send the boy away so….

"Alright then, but first we need to lay down some ground rules. First no wearing costumes, only civvies, no need for my neighbors to come find me hanging out with a superhero," before he had even said two Bart had flashed in and out of the room, returning in an old green jacket, a pair of jeans, and a black shirt.

"Good?" He asked.

Wally smiled, "Works for me, now two. _Please_ don't mention Artemis." Bart nodded, looking at him like he understood, but how could he? "Three, please ask before you raid my fridge or anything else for that matter okay?"

"Got it," Bart nodded.

"Alright, now what class did you leave? Figured as long as you're missing class I might as well see if I can at least teach you a little."

Bart tensed, but answered, "History."

Wally nodded, he was okay in history, nothing like science, but he could manage. "And what were you learning about?"

Bart looked into Wally's eyes dead serious as he said, "I don't want to say and I _definitely _don't want to learn about it."

Misinterpreting Bart's reaction as just not wanting to work Wally groaned, "Come on Bart your missing class and one way or another you have to learn these things. Come on I'll get a documentary or something we can watch it, eat some popcorn, it will be more fun than sitting in a classroom. It will be, what's the word you use, crash right?"

Bart shook his head, "no it won't be."

Wally glared, Bart glared back and for a while the two just stood, or in Bart's case sat, there glaring, before finally Bart broke the gaze. Looking at his sneakers he mumbled, "slavery."

Wally blinked he hadn't expected that, he'd expected something like some sort of war, the kind where the teachers always showed pictures of dead and wounded bodies. The things he didn't like learning about….not slavery.

A look crossed Bart's face and Wally instantly recognized it. It was a look he had seen on every hero with a tragic back story. Nightwing, Artemis, M'gann, Superboy, Batman, sometimes Flash even got that look in his eyes. It was a look that looked so out of place on Bart's usually happy face.

Slowly Wally came and sat down next to Bart on the bed, "Bart what aren't you telling us?"

Bart's answer came slowly, but it came, a soft, "everything," left his mouth.

Wally wrapped his arm around his cousin and pulled him into a sideways hug, the way Uncle Barry had done to him when he was upset. For a moment Bart tensed as if he was unused to the attention before he relaxed.

For a moment they sat there in silence before Bart mumbled, "Hey Wally can I tell you something?"

The red head studied his face for a moment before nodding, "Anything."

"You can't tell anyone okay? It's…it's a major spoiler."

Wally nodded.

Bart looked out into nothing, his whole face seemed to age as he spoke, "I don't like learning about slavery, because I saw it happen, because I _was _a slave."

Wally blinked in surprise, not able to find words, until finally the word, "How….?" Escaped his lips.

Bart's eyes dropped to the floor and the kid began rubbing his neck, but it was almost as if he was expecting something to be there, that wasn't.

"The Reach, an alien species, they…they got Blue on mode, he became the biggest, big bad ever," Bart clucked humorously. "Ironic isn't it? The fact that my once tormentor is now my best friend? Anyways let's just say my childhood wasn't a happy one. At age four my powers were discovered and I was forced to wear an Inhibitor Collar twenty-four seven, at age five my dad was killed, age seven my mom. Grandma and Grandpa had died before. You," He looked up at Wally. "You were killed in the Hero Massacre of 2027, before I was born, finally my aunt died, I'd lost everyone. I was alone."

Tears pooled in Bart's eyes, "I had no one to lean back on, to tell me that they loved me. So I became a nothing, well nothing more than fresh meat, a slave. I was an object for The Reach to push around and command, nothing more. They never called us human or people; it was always meat, or number blah blah blah. We were their pets, their lab rats. We had two purposes to work, or to be experimented on."

Another emotionless laugh, "I got both. I had a meta-gene so I made the list of people to be experimented on; once they had their fun I was turned over to Blue and put to work. After a couple years of that, I escaped found a small rebellion, meant Nue—a friend and we made a time machine, sent me back in time to save the future and well here I am." He shrugged. "I was a slave my whole life, until I came here. Tortured at the age seven, for two years, put to work for the next four or five, so you can see why I don't like the topic."

Bart had tears in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks as he remembered things no 12 year old should have memories of.

Wally's eyes fell to the ground, wondering what to do. How had he not seen the mask the 12 year old wore? It was so similar to his when he was that age, but he had been fooled none the less, finally he pulled Bart into a tight hug.

"I won't let that happen," Wally mumbled eyes closed, as he held the sobbing boy. "I promise, I'll die before I do."

Bart clung to Wally like a child afraid of a bed time monster, but then again Bart did have a bed time monster. His was just scarier and real.

"So," Wally said pulling away and looking at Bart smiling softly. "Why don't we got cheer you up? There's a Chicken Whizzie's joint down the street, care to join me?"

"A what now?" Bart asked as Wally laughed faking horror.

"Why you have never tasted the wonders of the Chicken Whizzies? My young grasshopper you have much to learn."

Bart smiled and stood up, wiping tears away from his face.

"Well then what are we waiting for let's go!"

Wally smiled as Bart raced out the door and he decided right then and there he was going to give his cousin the childhood Bart had missed out on.

"Hurry up slowpoke!"

Wally laughed as he grabbed his car keys and raced after Bart, maybe a relative wasn't that bad.

**TADA! Just really wanted some Wally and Bart brother bonding stuff, so this was born :D :D**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


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